Toward Asian Pacific Financial Centers: A Comparative Study of Financial Developments in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore

1999 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
pp. 29-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Wen Young ◽  
Ken Hung ◽  
David C. Cheng

There are many societal similarities among Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. However, with respect to financial developments, there is no denying that Hong Kong and Singapore score higher than Taiwan with regard to liberalization and internationalization. The financial developments of the three regions are compared retrospectively and prospectively along the lines of financial institutions, financial markets and government controls. The differences in the relative scales of the three regions' financial industries are highlighted together with a comparison of their developmental processes.

2002 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 441-458
Author(s):  
Leong H. Liew ◽  
Harry X. Wu

Expectations and beliefs are important forces that can influence financial markets. Using results from a survey, this article examines the beliefs of currency traders in Hong Kong's financial institutions regarding the RMB and HK$/US$ pegs. In particular, it examines the attitudes of these currency traders towards the intervention by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in Hong Kong's stock and futures markets to defend the HK$/US$ peg during the Asian crisis in 1998. Contrary to expectation, not all currency traders in Hong Kong were diehard devotees of the free market and more were in support of the intervention than against. Degree of identification with Hong Kong was found to be important, influencing attitudes towards government intervention. An inference from the survey is that the intervention was popular with Hong Kong residents and that future intervention by the HKMA is likely if faced with similar speculative attacks on the HK$.


Author(s):  
Arner Douglas W ◽  
Gibson Evan C ◽  
Hsu Berry F C

This chapter describes the main elements of the current financial sector activity in Hong Kong and the conditions under which they function. It highlights Hong Kong's financial markets and economy that have suffered an economic downturn following the 2019 protests and sustained by the Covid—19 pandemic. It also mentions how Hong Kong implements the principal standards and reforms adopted at the international level, particularly in relation to the resolution of Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions (G—SIFIs). This chapter provides an overview of the monetary, banking, equity, debt, insurance, and derivatives markets in Hong Kong. It talks about Hong Kong's de facto constitution, the Basic Law, which aids the economy in maintaining its capitalist system for fifty years from 1 July 1997.


Author(s):  
Richard S Collier

This book seeks to explain why and how banks ‘game the system’. More specifically, its objective is to account for why banks are so often involved in cases of misconduct and why those cases often involve the exploitation of tax systems. To do this, a case study is presented in Part I of the book. This case study concerns a highly complex transaction (often referred to as ‘cum-ex’) designed to exploit a flaw at the intersection of the tax system and the financial markets settlements system. It was entered into by a very large number of banks and other financial institutions. A number of factors make the cum-ex transaction remarkable, including the sheer scale of the financial amounts involved, the large number of banks and financial institutions involved, the comprehensive failure of the controls infrastructure in this highly regulated sector, and the fact that authorities across Europe have found it so difficult to deal with the transaction. Part II of the book draws out the wider significance of cum-ex and what it tells us about modern banks and their interactions with tax systems. The account demonstrates why the exploitation of tax systems by banks is practically inevitable due to a variety of systemic features of the financial markets and of tax systems themselves. A number of possible responses to the current position are suggested in the final chapter.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-232
Author(s):  
Barry Sautman ◽  
Xinyi Xie

Many in Hong Kong voice concerns about the fate of Cantonese, including nativists (“localists”) and the general public. Guangzhou is seen as a harbinger of diminishing Cantonese in Hong Kong. News and commentaries paint a gloomy picture of Cantonese in Guangzhou. Yet rarely do we read about surveys on the range of Cantonese use and identity in Guangzhou. Neither do we see analyses on how the social context differences between Hong Kong and Guangzhou may have contributed to the two cities’ unique language situations. Our study delineates the Guangzhou and Hong Kong language situations, comparing mother tongues, ordinary languages, and language attitudes. Cantonese is unrivalled in Hong Kong and remains vital in Guangzhou. We put the two cities’ different use frequency and proficiency of Cantonese and Putonghua (“Mandarin”) in the sociocultural context of motivation and migration. We conclude that some claims of diminishing Cantonese are unsupported. We also address how likely it is that Cantonese will diminish or even be replaced in Hong Kong.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Kamaldeep Kaur Sarna

COVID-19 is aptly stated as a Black Swan event that has stifled the global economy. As coronavirus wreaked havoc, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted globally, unemployment rate soared high, and economic recovery still seems a far-fetched dream. Most importantly, the pandemic has set up turbulence in the global financial markets and resulted in heightened risk elements (market risk, credit risk, bank runs etc.) across the globe. Such uncertainty and volatility has not been witnessed since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. The spread of COVID-19 has largely eroded investors’ confidence as the stock markets neared lifetimes lows, bad loans spiked and investment values degraded. Due to this, many turned their backs on the risk-reward trade off and carted their money towards traditionally safer investments like gold. While the banking sector remains particularly vulnerable, central banks have provided extensive loan moratoriums and interest waivers. Overall, COVID-19 resulted in a short term negative impact on the financial markets in India, though it is making a way towards V-shaped recovery. In this context, the present paper attempts to identify and evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the financial markets in India. Relying on rich literature and live illustrations, the influence of COVID-19 is studied on the stock markets, banking and financial institutions, private equities, and debt funds. The paper covers several recommendations so as to bring stability in the financial markets. The suggestions include, but are not limited to, methods to regularly monitor results, establishing a robust mechanism for risk management, strategies to reduce Non-Performing Assets, continuous assessment of stress and crisis readiness of the financial institutions etc. The paper also emphasizes on enhancing the role of technology (Artificial Intelligence and Virtual/Augmented Reality) in the financial services sector to optimize the outcomes and set the path towards recovery.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-56
Author(s):  
MG Maiangwa

Poor farm households and other microentrepreneurs have difficulties in obtaining loans from banks and other financial institutions because they are unable to provide securities or collaterals for the loans. Collaterals on loans reduce uncertainty and moral hazard problems for creditors. They also serve as a measure of the seriousness of the borrower. The limited availability of conventional collaterals in rural financial markets has led to the acceptance of non-traditional methods of loan security referred to as collateral substitutes. This paper reviews loan collaterals and collateral substitutes in the rural financial markets of developing countries.Keywords:: Collaterals, collateral substitutes, rural finance.


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